Massive pro-Palestine protests erupted across Italy on Monday as demonstrators clashed with police, blocked roads and ports, and vandalised stations and public property over the Gaza war killings and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s refusal to back a Palestinian state.
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through several Italian cities against the Israeli offensive in Gaza and Meloni’s far-right government decision not to recognise a Palestinian state.
The demonstrations were part of a nationwide strike, 'Let's Block Everything', called by trade unions to protest the mass killings of Palestinians in Gaza.
Police in riot gear used tear gas to disperse demonstrators at Milan’s central station while some protesters dressed in black and waving the Palestinian flag smashed a window using a pole and threw a chair at police.
The clashes left over 60 police officers injured and resulted in the arrest of more than 10 people, according to state media.
Dockworkers blocked ports in solidarity with Palestinians. Prime Minister Meloni, under fire from political opponents for her stance on Gaza, condemned the violence as shameful.
Although Italy voted in favour of Palestinian statehood at the UN earlier this month, Meloni has, for the moment, decided against formally recognising a Palestinian state.
At the Venice port, police deployed water cannon to disperse demonstrators. Workers staged protests at ports in Genoa, Livorno and Trieste, attempting to prevent Italy from being used as a hub for the transfer of arms and supplies to Israel for its war against Hamas in Gaza.
In Bologna, protesters blocked a highway, stopping vehicles before clashing with police and being dispersed by water cannon. In Rome, tens of thousands gathered outside a railway station before marching onto a major ring road, holding slogans such as “Free Palestine” and “Let's block everything.”
In Naples, crowds clashed with police as they forced their way into the main railway station, briefly stepping onto tracks and causing delays. In Genoa, several hundred protesters waved Palestinian flags during demonstrations around the port.
The protests coincided with announcements by multiple countries recognising a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly, following recognition by the UK, Australia, Canada, Portugal and France.
Prime Minister Meloni condemned the violence in Milan and other cities as outrageous. In a post on X, she said destruction “will not change a single thing in the lives of people in Gaza.”
“Outrageous images coming from Milan: self-proclaimed 'pro-Pal' individuals, self-proclaimed 'Antifa' members, self-proclaimed 'pacifists' who wreak havoc on the train station and provoke clashes with law enforcement. Violence and destruction that have nothing to do with solidarity and that will not change a single thing in the lives of people in Gaza, but will have concrete consequences for Italian citizens, who will end up suffering and paying for the damages caused by these thugs,” she said.
“A thought of closeness to law enforcement, forced to endure the bullying and gratuitous violence of these pseudo-protesters. I hope for clear words of condemnation from the organisers of the strike and from all political forces,” she added.
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“The Palestinian people continue to give us yet another lesson in dignity and resistance,” said Ricky, a protester in Genoa from the grassroots labour group Autonomous Port Workers’ Collective. “We learn from them and try to do our part,” he added.
Meloni’s government recently said it would be counter-productive to recognise a Palestinian state that does not exist, a position that has angered her left-wing opponents after she failed to explain her stance on Israel in parliament.
Public transport was heavily disrupted. A key metro line in Milan was shut down, while university students in Turin and Bologna blocked access to lecture halls.
The clashes came after French President Emmanuel Macron formally recognised Palestine as a state on Monday, calling the decision a “necessity” and “the beginning of a political process and a peace and security plan for everybody.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised Macron’s move, calling it a reward for Hamas, while its UN envoy described the development as a circus. The war in Gaza, which will reach its second anniversary next month, has claimed over 65,000 Palestinian lives.
Several European countries, including Spain and Norway, recognised a Palestinian state last year.
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